Essential Tips and Best Practices for SharePoint Security

Most every collaboration Site Owner is probably concerned about security, which is quite understandable.

Companies are now all too aware that safeguarding their data, even if it is kept On-Premises, should be a top priority for all employees, not just those in a traditional administrative position.

IT specialists are still wary of data storage and processing sensitive data in the cloud despite rapid advances in cloud security.

Security experts are concerned because of the lack of control, visibility and the ease with which employees can share data with people outside the organization.

However, there are several tools on the market that can effectively secure content and documents.

SharePoint is one of these collaboration framework environments. SharePoint is an extremely useful tool for businesses because it allows them to secure documents and content.

However, using SharePoint to share sensitive documents and other content can be helpful for your organization.

To make the most out of this powerful tool, we have compiled a list of eight best security practices that you should adopt to keep you and your customers’ data safe and secure.

Keep digging to know more!

What Exactly is SharePoint & How Good is SharePoint Online Security?

Microsoft SharePoint is a platform that enables employees to build collaboration site environments where they can collaborate, distribute, and access important company documents and content from any device.

It aids companies in effectively managing, securing, and storing content and documents. This efficient data management leads to automated processes, a skilled workforce, and, in the end, happy repeat customers.

Because of its security protocols and security measures, SharePoint has strong data protection.

The Microsoft Office 365 suite includes SharePoint Online, and as is well known, Microsoft effectively secures its servers and shields its users’ data from nefarious outsiders.

However, be sure to adhere to best practices and even urge users to use best-in-class security measures.

6 SharePoint Security Best Practices – Check it out now!

1. Data classification helps a lot

Irrespective of the platform you are using, data classification is crucial for maintaining the security of your data.

Applying proper security controls and enforcing confidentiality, retention, and confidentiality management is simplified if you are aware of exactly what information you possess and where it is.

Searches will go more quickly and efficiently if your data is categorized. It will facilitate the process of deleting ROT (Redundant, Obsolete, and Trivial) data by assisting you in determining what information you actually need to keep.

Data classification tools are available in SharePoint Online, and they operate by assigning sensitivity tags to material and publishing the labels.

Additionally, automatic labeling is possible and can be used on both static and dynamic content.

This applies as well to location-based metadata tagging, which can be centrally configured and managed.

Automatic labeling is the preferable option for many agencies because we cannot presume that workers will allocate labels accurately every time.

2. Managing users becomes easier by grouping

SharePoint is a very versatile and extensible system, and the security architecture that surrounds it is as well.

When granting permissions, it’s recommended by SharePoint security best practices that you utilize Groups as much as possible. This starts with existing Azure AD groups

By applying permissions to the Group as a whole rather than to specific files, folders and named individuals, the use of Groups creates a more manageable security framework.

When it’s time to change permissions, you only need to change the Group, not specific individuals.

Without being concerned about particular permissions tiers, you could immediately remove or add users to the Group, either from ActiveDirectory, or to the SharePoint groups.

3. Restrictive third-party data sharing

If you are using SharePoint to share the information with contributors from other businesses, make sure that no sensitive data is shared.

Hackers who stole personal data from a third-party vendor were responsible for the well-known Target security breach that happened in November 2013.

When you share sensitive information with third-party partners, keep in mind that you cannot guarantee the security of their environment.

Using the External Sharing feature, you can invite visitors to view material in SharePoint Online.

This feature should be turned off by default and should only be activated when strictly essential.

An excellent compromise is to configure external sharing for “Whitelisting” domains so you only allow sharing to specifically trusted external domains.

4. Keep only one administrator for each Group!

As previously discussed, groups can be formed, and administrators for each Group can be appointed to oversee everything that occurs in their Group.

Selecting administrators is a wise security move. A better option is to limit the number of administrators to one per site or site group.

Site administrators have complete control over the site and access to all of its contents. They can also manage search, the recycle bin and enable or disable features, among other privileges.

It ensures that the administrator bears sole responsibility for everything that occurs in the Group.

Because there is only one administrator, that person will be responsible for all sharing that occurs in the Group.

The administrator can even specify which materials to share and which to keep secret, which is the reason only the administrator should have access to the system.

5. Efficiently managing permissions!

SharePoint admins have the option of granting various permissions at various levels, i.e. permissions in groups.

Giving everyone complete or unrestricted access is not preferred, and neither is giving specific users permission rights.

It might be necessary to modify several users’ permissions at once. Given how simple it is for administrators to change each member’s permissions in groups, this strategy is strongly advised.

You can grant users permissions through SharePoint based on permission level.

• Read – viewing and downloading documents
• Edit – adding and removing permissions;
• View-only – viewing access to documents, objects, and pages
• Contribute – adding, removing, viewing, and editing list items or single documents.
• Design: Creating document libraries and lists and updating the site(s) to reflect design changes;
• Limited access – access to a particular item or document
• Full control – complete access to the system’s resources;

6. Educating users about keeping their systems safe

Users need to be aware of the precautions they must personally take in addition to the additional safety features that SharePoint provides to avoid falling victim to security traps.

a) Personal device locking: It is always beneficial to keep your devices locked to safeguard against unauthorized access, especially with the growing participation of personal devices in corporate and business processes.

b) Not using public devices: Yes, there are instances where our devices are out of reach, and we need to log off public devices. Our default option is to use public computers in places like hotels, business centers, and cybercafés.

For proper security, we must exercise caution and make sure to log off these systems as quickly as we are done using them.

c) Installing antivirus software: SharePoint is primarily run online, so there is a chance that we could receive files and contents that could be dangerous to our devices. A reliable antivirus program is a good idea.

d) Using a strong password: It’s crucial to use a strong password. A strong password frequently consists of both capital and lowercase letters, numbers, and special symbols and is lengthy.

Additionally, it is a good SharePoint security procedure to change your passwords every 90 days and avoid using the same password on multiple platforms.

e) Back-up is crucial: Backing up important documents is a good safety practice in case a virus attack, software update, or hardware malfunction renders your files temporarily unreachable.

Conclusion